Electrode holder



June 24, 1947. I F. VAN IDYJKE 2,423,058

ELECTRODE HOLDER Filed Sept, 50., 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR. Hank a. W n;

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Patented June 24, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRODE HOLDER Frank G. Van Dyke, Detroit, Mich.

Application September 30, 1943, Serial No. 504,481

7 Claims. 1

My invention relates to electrode holders and has particular reference to the spring jaw type used for welding wherein handles associated with the jaws are operable to open them against spring tension means which, when the jaws are permitted to close, functions to firmly position the electrode in the holder.

Among the objects of the invention is to eliminate substantially the likelihood of spatter from the electrode contacting the operating elements of the holder, particularly the electrode gripping portion of the jaws. One important feature of this phase of the invention resides in so constructing and arranging the jaws, the conducting portions thereof, and the spring tension means that one jaw functions as a housing for the other elements. This arrangement prevents spatter from reaching the elements even when the electrode has burned down almost to the end. A saving in electrode material is thus obtained and the customary need for frequently cleaning the holder is eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to simplify the construction and at the same time substantially increase its operatin efficiency by reducing the length of and resistance in the circuit between cable connector and electrode contacts. This end may be attained by securing to the conducting jaw of the holder an arm of conducting material and so arranging it with reference to the conducting jaw that when the tension means operates to close the jaws the electrode rod will be gripped firmly between the conducting jaw and its associated conducting arm.

An important further object of the invention is to construct the arm of spring material and. so arrange it in relation to the other elements that it functions as the tension means by which the electrode is held in place while at the same time rendering it unnecessary to include in circuit at all any portion of the other jaw which houses the elements and shields them.

For convenience herein the conducting jaw will be designated the lower jaw and the female or housing jaw Will be designated the upper jaw.

The upper jaw may thus be made of any suitable type of insulating material, eliminating the usual complicated provisions for insulating the upper jaw and/or handle of the conventional holder from its lower jaw. Furthermore, the upper or housin jaw may be integral with its associated operating handle, and may be made of plastic, synthetic resin, or any suitabletype of insulating material.

By varying certain of the important features 2 of the invention, such as using conventional spring tension means in lieu of the spring conducting arm and inserting a metal jaw tip in the upper or housing jaw, many of the foregoing advantages are obtained. The upper arm and jaw may, furthermore, constitute a single metal stamping, casting or forging and the upper operating handle alone be insulated, as is customary, while still retainin the important no-spatter feature of the invention. Insulating the tip from the housing jaw eliminates the need for insulatin its handle portion. Furthermore, where the upper jaw and handle are metal, I contemplate coating their entire exterior surface with a liquid plastic or other insulating material applied in liquid form. This may readily be done by painting, spraying or dipping.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the use of a hollow pipe or tube as the conducting shank forming the major portion of the lower jaw and operating handle assembly, thereby increasing the efiiciency of the arrangement by increasing the amperage that may be carried through such shank under a given voltage. The use of a hollow conductin shank extending from the cable connector likewise possesses the advantage of adaptability in that it is possible to vary substantially the type and. size of connection coupling the shank to the cable. For instance, the shank may be threaded both internally and externally at its rear end, thus permitting association therewith of either internally or externally threaded forward connector ends.

Use of a hollow shank provides the added advantage of eliminating the necessity of drilling a solid shank at either or both ends to receive cable connectors or jaw tips. While the use of jaw tips of high conductivity in conjunction with electrode holders is not broadly novel, such tips are especially suitable for connection with the forward end of a hollow shank such as herein proposed.

Another feature of importance resides in the particular means disclosed herein for connecting the cable to the rear end of the conducting shank whereby substantially full line contact is obtained and leakage thereby greatly. reduced.

Still another novel and desirable phase of my invention resides in the particular means disclosed for insulating the conducting shank itself from the outer surface of the composite lower operating arm whereby an air passage of substantial volume surrounds the conducting elements and whereby the outer insulating sleeve may be adjustably positioned with reference to 3 the latter so that a removable shield suitable for protecting the operators hands under certain circumstances may be inserted at will between the sleeve and the jaws of the mechanism.

Various other objects and meritorious features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures, and where- Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the Fig. 2 construction slightly modified;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the nose or gripping jaws of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section through another form of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a section through still another form;

Fig. 7 is a section through a modification of Figs. 1 and 3 forms;

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are details illustrating modifications of one phase of the invention;

Fig. 11 is a perspective of a removable jaw tip, and

121s a section through l2-l2 of Fig. 9.

Refer-ring now to the drawings, and particularly to the structure illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the numeral I represents the forward section of an integral conducting shank made of a solid piece of high-conductivity metal. The rear section 12 of the conducting shank is externally threaded to receive the metallic sleeve l4 of a cable connector assembly. The cable i is connected to the rear of sleeve 14 by means of a metallic wedge sleeve l3 which will be described more in detail hereinafter.

The forward section N1 of the shank is tapered and finished as indicated at 29 to receive the correspondingly tapered and finished socket of a removable metallic tip 22 which is held in positionon the tapered shank extremity by means of -a set screw 24. Section of the conducting shank and the removable tip constitute the lower gripping jaw of the assembly. The tip is preferably of extremely hard metal of highly conductive characteristics. Copper alloy has been found suitable. The upper face of the tip 22 is provided with conventional electrode rod receiving grooves '26 and 28 which permit positioning the rod at any of several angles, as indicated particularly in Fig. 2, which may prove most suitable for the work involved. In Fig. 2 electrode rods are shown at 30 and 32 simply to illustrate this conventional feature.

One end of a spring metal conducting arm 34 is secured to the upper face of shank section It) by means of a strap plate 36 of insulating material, as by means of bolts 38 extending through aligned apertures in the strap plate, the end of spring arm 34, and the top face of shank section [1).

The free extremity of spring metal arm 34 is preferably provided with rod seating grooves 43 and 42 which correspond to the grooves 28 and 28 in the upper face-of metal tip 22, thereby providing a substantial contact surface for conveying the current from the shank to the rod.

The arm 34 is preferably of substantial resiliency and, when not under tension, lies over and in close proximity to the gripping face of tip 22. My invention contemplates the use of spring arm 34 as a conducting medium only to shorten the length of and decrease the resistance in the circult through the electrode rod. This it accomplishes by carrying the circuit substantially directly from section 13 of the conducting shank to the electrode rod without permitting the substantial leakage which occurs in conventional holders despite the rather complicated and expensive insulating arrangements in common use.

The spring arm 34, with or without the aid of additional tension means such as the coil spring 44 illustrated in Fig. 3, may constitute the tension means for closing the rod gripping jaws and holding the rod firmly positioned during operation. This function of the arm will become clearer from the description following.

One of the most important features of this invention resides in the upper jaw formation and its association with the lower jaw whereby spatter from the end of the electrode rod is precluded from reaching the gripping portions of the mechanism. Ths increases the life of the holder substantially and eliminates the time and expense involved in cleaning the jaws periodically.

The upper jaw, broadly indicated in Fig. l by the numeral 46, is in the form of a shell or female member which completely houses the component portions of the lower jaw and the spring tension means by which the electrode rod is gripped. Depending from the top wall 48 on each side thereof is a skirt 50 which, in normal rod holding position of the jaws, extends down somewhat beyond the lower face of metal tip 22 and in close proximity to the side walls of the latter. At their forward end the skirts or walls are rounded to merge and form a nose portion 52. At the rear of this jaw the top wall 43 merges -i-nto an upper operating handle 54 and the skirts are flared outwardly as indicated at 58 to provide additional protection against spatter reaching the rear section 12 of the conducting shank and its associated elements. This flare serves another purpose, which will be more particularly brought out hereinafter.

The upper jaw is pivoted to the assembly by means of a pivot pin 62 extending through an enlarged portion '63 of strap '36 and through receiving apertures in the skirts or walls 50 of the upper jaw member. The nose 52 of the upper or female jaw is provided with an inwardlly extending projection 64 of insulating material which, on-opening movement of the upper jaw, is adapted to-engage the forward extremity of spring arm 34 which extends beyond the metal tip 22, thereby lifting the spring arm away from said tip to permit insertion of an electrode rod. This inwardly extending projection may be formed in any suitable fashion and has been illustrated in Fig. 5 as an annular member 64 of plastic or insulating material threaded onto a screw 65 extending through the nose of the upper jaw member.

In each skirt or wall 50 of the upper jaw member are apertures 58 and 60 which are in vertical alignment with grooves 26 and 23 which receive the electrode rod. Any opening may be selected to receive the end of an elect-rode rod in the desired position. Each aperture is of such size and is so positioned in vertical reference to the jaw tip 22 and the gripping surface opposed thereto as to permit an electrode rod gripped in the device to extend freely therethrough away from the closed jaws but lying in the plane thereof.

A sleeve of insulating material 66 surrounds metallic sleeve 14 of the cableconnector and a second insulating sleeve 68 is adapted to slide thereover and abut against a shield 10, the other face of which abuts against flared portion 58 of the upper jaw. The two insulating sleeves and the'fcable connector sleeve are fixedly held in position relative to one another by means of a screw 12 threaded into an aperture in the connector sleeve I4, passing through an aperture aligned therewith in insulating sleeve 66 and bearing upon the countersunk wall 74 of a slot in sleeve 68. The slot permits relative movement of the outer sleeve with reference to the other two sleeves and, when the shield is not desired,

the outer sleeve is moved forwardly past the screw and tightened in such position that the screw is in the rear of the slot, thus precluding anopening between the forward end of sleeve 68 and the flared portion 56 of the upper jaw when the shield 10 is not in use. Operating handle 54 may besheathed in an insulating member 16, when necessary, and may project rearwardly as shown. .Thejwedge sleeve is by means of which the cable 16 is fixedly positioned within the sleeve of the cable connector l4 constitutes a generally cylindrical metallic conducting member open at one or both ends and flanged as indicated at I8 around the periphery of the rear open end. The sleeve Wall is slotted inwardly from its rear end as indicated at 80 along diametrically opposed lines and is tapered radially inwardly at a slight angle from the rear end, as clearly shown. The outside diameter of the sleeve It at its forward end is substantially equal to the inner diameter of cable connector sleeve l4, although the wall at that end may be slightly chamfered to facilitate insertion of the sleeve into the connector sleeve. When connecting the cable, the cable is first inserted in the sleeve 18 and the sleeve is then driven into cable connector sleeve l4. By virtue of the slots which extend from the flanged open or driving end of sleeve [8, the wall of the latter will be forced inwardly as it is driven into the sleeve l4 and substantial line contact between the outer surface of sleeve 19 and the inner surface of sleeve [4 throughout the length of sleeve ill will result. This obtains maximum efiiciency of conductivity from the cable and provides a very tight securing means.

Operation of the mechanism as illustrated in .these figures will be apparent, particularly from Fig. 3 wherein open position of the clamping jaws isillustrated in dotted lines. It should be noted that by virtue of the construction and arrangement of parts heretofore described, it is possible to provide an upper operating arm which, even in closed position of the jaws, lies rather close to "through aperture 58 in the skirt 50 of the upper or female jaw member and seated between the cooperating grooves in the upper face of jaw tip 22 and the lower face ofspring member 34. When the rod is properly positioned, the arm is released and the tension in spring member 34 abutting projection 64 forces the housing jaw member downwardly and rod clamping engagement is obtained between the jaw tip 22 and spring arm 34.;

Should it prove desirable to provide increased tension under certain circumstances, the coil spring 44 may be associated with the jaws as indicated in Fig. 3, wherein the upper end of the coil abuts against an insulating washer 83 seated upon the top wall 48 of the housing jaw and the lower end is seated against the top surface of the front section 10 of the conducting shank. The tension in the coil spring thus supplements that obtained through the resiliency inherent in spring conducting arm 34.

Perhaps it should be made clear again that no significance resides in the terms upper and lower in describing the jaws and operating handles except insofar as, in conjunction with the drawings, they distinguish one from another in describing and claiming my improved mechanism. Obviously the female or housing jaw could constitute the lower jaw as depicted in the drawings without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 6 to 12, inclusive, the structure illustrated in Fig. 6 embodies a second metal tip 84 inserted in the nose of the female or upper housing jaw 46 and retained in position by suitable means such as a set screw 86. The tip 84, like tip 22, is preferably of relatively hard highly conductive metal and it may be insulated from the under surface of jaw it as by means of an insulation lamination 83. In this embodiment the jaw pivot pin 52 extends through an car 93 integral with the forward section E of the solid metal conducting shank.

While the insulating assembly surrounding the rear section l2 of the conducting shank in this embodiment has been illustrated in the position it would occupy where no shield 18 is employed, such shield has been indicated in dotted lines and the conducting shank is enlarged at the point of juncture 92 between front and rear sections to provide an abutment against which such shield may rest when used. Such enlargement of the shank may either supplement or serve in lieu of the flared portion 5d of the female jaw. The set screw T2 is at its rear limit of movement in slot "5 5 of sleeve 63, representing its position when no shield ill is employed In this embodiment coil spring 43 is seated between the jaws in the manner described hereto fore with reference to Fig. 3 and constitutes the only spring tension means forcing the jaws together. The upper jaw and handle may be of a single integral structure such as a forging or casting. "Where made of plastic the insulating lamination 88 is unnecessary.

Fig. 7 is somewhat like the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3. In this construction the head of a bolt 92 seats in insulating washer 94 and its end is in threaded engagement with arm 34. Movement of the upper handle is thus transmitted through the female jaw to the arm 34 when inserting a rod in the holder, and spring return of the arm to rod-clamping position carries with it the female jaw and its handle.

This modification likewise embodies a hollow or tubular shank broadly indicated by the numeral 95, as distinguished from the solid shank structures described hitherto with reference to certain other modifications. The end of the forward section of the shank is tapered inwardly as indicated at 91 for reception in a correspondingly tapered socket in metal tip 22, where it is securely positioned by set screw 99. Cable connector sleeve [4 is threaded over the end of the rear shank section, which'is externally threaded for that purpose.

'In 'Figs; 8-10 I have illustratedsomewhatmodified forms of tube conducting shanks. The rear extremity of shank 95 of'Fig. 8 has been illustrated as threaded externally like that in Fig.7, but obviously both external and internal threads may be used, thus'adapting the shank for connection with either internally or externally threaded'cable connectors. In this' embodiment a male jaw tip 98 may be inserted in the forward section of the shank and securely positioned therein by means of set screw I03. Jaw tip '98 is illustrated in perspective in'Fig. l1 and its upper face corresponds to that described with ref erence to jaw tip 22 insofar as electrode rod-receiving grooves are concerned The contact line between the shank and male tip '98 in this embodiment is a straight; edge.

In-Fig. 9 a further embodiment utilizing a tube or pipe for the conducting shank has been illustrated. Under some circumstances it maybe desirable to strengthen and rigidify the forward section of a hollow shank, at the same time preserving the benefit derived in efficient conductivity through use of the hollow member. Under such circumstances the forward section of the shank may be deformed as illustrated in Fig. 12 to form a substantially fiat upper surface I82 and a depending way or rabbet Ifl l for reception into a correspondingly formed opening H36 in jaw tip I68. As illustrated the tip and shank con tacting surfaces may be tapered and the two curely positioned with reference to one another by set screw Hi].

The contacting surfaces of the forward section of the conducting shank and that portion of the jaw tip with which it is associated may be tapered in all embodiments to form a tightengagement, both mechanically and electrically. In Fig. ll) the inner face of the shank wall has been chamfered to provide a taper fit with the tip.

Where a cheap construction is desired. the hol low conducting shank is well adapted to simplified connection directly with the cable by driv-- ing a metallic wedge sleeve 58, into which a cable has been inserted, into the open end of the rear section of the conducting shank, as illustrated in Fig. 10.

It will of course be understood that hollow 0011- F ducting shanks such as those illustrated in Figs. 8-10 may he apertured and otherwise deformed. in any manner necessary or suitable for efficiently associating therewith other elements of my improved arrangement such as the strap 38, etc. Furthermore, since such elements per se constitute no part of my present invention, they may be deformed or modified in any manner deemed necessary or dvisable to render them best suited for efficient correlation with the hollow shank.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. perhaps more simplified and-easily manipulated than any of theothers. This construction utilize a coil spring M only to provide 5 ring tension means for closing the jaws and gripping an electrode rod. The shank is of solid metal comprising a forward section 55 and a rear section l2. Rod-seating grooves 28' are provided in the upper surface of the jaw face portion of forward section II) which cooperate with a cleft or seating surface H2 extending across the lower face of the female jaw member. This seating surface is in transverse alignment with the openings on each 'sideof the skirt portion of the upper jaw member through which the rod is inserted for positioning.

It will be noted that the upper jaw construction is somewhat different from that of the other embodiments hitherto described. This upper jaw is pivoted to the lower jaw by means of a pivot pin I I4 which extends through the lower jaw and through aligned apertures in the side walls or skirts of the upper jaw. Coil spring 44 is seated on'an insulating washer H6 and centered at its upper extremity on a boss I I8 protruding from the lower face of the upper jaw.

The top face of the upper jaw slopes downwardly toward its tip or nose from apoint adjacent the coil spring as indicated at I20 and is thickened considerably as indicated at I22 across that portion which overlies the gripping orworking face of the lower jaw.

Thus it will be seen that the electrode rod 32 is gripped firmly between the lower male jaw and the upper female jaw across the entire width of the lower jaw face. At the same time the housing function of the female jaw, whereby spatter is eliminated, is retained and a very effective streamlining of the gripping jaws is secured without need for insertion of a jaw tip such as those hitherto described.

At the juncture of the forward and rear sections of the shank there is a shoulder I 24, immediately adjacent and to the rear of which is a smaller shoulder or seat I26 adapted to center an apertured shield I28, which shield is firmly secured in position by means of a screw I30 extending through the shield and threadedly engaging the shoulder I24. Shoulder I26 is preferably non-circular and the opening in the shield which seats thereon conforms in contour. Thus the shield may be grasped to hold the mechanism against turning when the cable connector and its surrounding sleeve are backed off.

The upper operating handle I32 extends through an aperture I34 in the shield, which latter provides clearance for manipulating movement of the handle. An insulating shield I36 may be slipped over the upper operating handle.

A cable connector unit I38 is threadedly secured to the free end of the rear shank section I2" and the cable may be connected to the other. end thereof by means of receiving socket I40. Spacer sleeve I42 and insulatin sleeve I44 are positioned over the cable connector unit and held in position by means of screw I46.

While in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5 the upper jaw must be of metal for'condu'ctlng purposes, here I again propose to coat the'entire exterior surface of the jaws and handles with a highly insulative liquid plastic, thereby eliminating any need for other insulation. As hitherto suggested, such coating may be applied in any of a number of ways, as by spraying,'palnting or dipping. It is preferable that the insulation coating be applied at a relatively high tempera.- ture, thereby securing a firmer and denser bond with themetal surface coated. For my purpose I' have found most satisfactory a plastic coating known to the trade as Marlox which'resists cracking or disintegration of any kind at extremely high temperatures and is highly'nonconductive. The thickness of the coating will be determined bypractical considerations as to voltage,'etc., being handled.

While various preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated herein and certain language used for purposes of description; such as upper and lower, these terms have as aforesaid been utilized simply to distinguish similar elements from one another when describin and claiming them and I do not contemplate their use as limitations.

I claim:

1. In an electrode holder the combination of pivoted male and enclosing female rod griping jaws, an opening through the wall of the female jaw receiving the electrode rod, and spring tension means tending to close said jaws.

2. In an electrode holder, the combination of a lower gripping jaw of conducting material, spring tension means including an upper jaw for holding the end of an electrode rod against the face of said lower jaw, said upper jaw being pivoted to the lower jaw and forming a housing surrounding the same, and means for releasing said spring tension means to permit insertion and withdrawal of said rod.

3. In an electrode holder the combination of a lower gripping jaw of conducting material, spring tension means for holding the end of an electrode rod against a face of said jaw, an upper jaw pivoted to the lower jaw and forming a housing surrounding the lower jaw, and means for releasing said spring tension means to permit insertion and withdrawal of the rod.

4. In an electrode holder the combination of a lower gripping jaw of conducting material, a spring arm of high conductivity secured to said lower jaw and having its free arm extending over and, when not under tension, in close proximity to the rod gripping portion of the lower jaw, and means pivoted to the lower jaw for moving the free end of said arm away from the lower jaw to thereby permit insertion of the rod and place the arm under tension to retain the rod in operative position, said means comprising a shell-like structure forming a housing for the lower jaw and spring arm and including a stop extending under the spring arm whereby relative movement of the shell and lower jaw in one direction forces the spring arm away from the jaw.

5. In an electrode holder the combination of two pivoted members forming male and female jaws each having an operating handle, means associated with one operating handle for connecting an electric cable thereto, means associated with the male jaw for gripping an electrode rod and conducting current thereto from the cable, and means carried by the female jaw operable on 10 relative movement of the jaws to move said last mentioned means to permit insertion and withdrawal of the rod.

6. In an electrode holder the combination of two pivoted members forming male and female jaws each having an operating handle, means associated with one operating handle for connecting an electric cable thereto, means associated with the male jaw for gripping an electrode rod and conducting current thereto from the cable, and means carried by the female jaw operable on relative movement of the jaws to move said last mentioned means to permit insertion and with drawal of the rod, said female jaw comprising a housing encompassing all exposed faces of said male jaw except its outer face.

7. In an electrode holder the combination of a conducting shank member including a forward rod gripping jaw section and an insulated rear handle portion, an upper member pivoted to said shank including a handle and a gripping jaw section. cooperable with the jaw section of said shank to grip an electrode rod, one of said jaw sections being so shaped as to form a housing enclosing the other, and resilient means normalIy forcing said jaw sections together.

FRANK G. VAN DYKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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